FinovateAsia 2013 Best of Show: Yodlee

Being able to put the “personal” in personal finance management may be the surest path to winning Best of Show at a Finovate event.

In New York, Yodlee introduced its “shared finances” PFM app, Tandem. Tandem’s use cases ranged from the woman able to co-manage the finances of a college age son (without dealing directly with “the ex”) to adult siblings collaborating via the app to help parents with their accounts. The technology impressed by showing attendees exactly how the mobile solution made managing money easier.

The international launch of Tandem in Singapore was equally adept at accentuating the personal. From the Indian ex-pat sending money to help pay for his parents’ new roof, to providing some not-too-tough love to a free-spending son newly at college, the Yodlee presentation succeeded in turning the abstraction of “financial circles” into something the average Mom, Dad, son or daughter can understand and appreciate.

Why It Won:

Tandem showed how it can help individuals and families manage those personal relationships that are also financial relationships. As the market for PFM solutions becomes more competitive, Yodlee’s demo based on regionally-familiar use cases helped distinguished the international launch of this new entrant to the field.

Bottom Line:

Tandem is as attractive as any other personal finance management app on the market. But what helps to set the solution apart is its embrace of the “shared finances” concept. As Katy Gibson, VP of Applications, points out in our brief conversation below, managing shared finances “is something people all over the world have to do.” Tandem honors the privacy and sensitivity of those relationships while making it that much easier to negotiate them.

Finovate: Tandem earned Best of Show honors at FinovateFall, and was again a crowd-favorite at FinovateAsia, winning Best of Show in Singapore this year as part of the technology’s international launch. Different audiences, same positive reaction. Why so?

Katy Gibson: At its core, Tandem does something very simple – it makes it easier than ever to talk about and manage shared finances which is something people all over the world have to do. Financial relationships are different wherever you go, of course, but we’ve designed Tandem to be versatile and flexible so that it can accommodate international differences.

Finovate: The idea of financial circles within shared finances is what helps distinguish Tandem from other PFM solutions on the market. The idea of different circles hasn’t panned out in social media in general (compare the languishing Google+ to popular Facebook). Why do circles work so well when it comes to PFM and Tandem?

Gibson: Relationships to finances are very different than the general social relationships found in Facebook and Google+. When it comes to money, relationships are more private and more sensitive – and differ drastically between different people. Circles is the best convention to define those relationships. Separating relationships and their associated conversations and transactions into circles make them much easier to keep track of, maintain and define – especially when a large group of people is working on or talking about something at the same time.

Also, many of people’s financial relationships don’t overlap. So separate financial circles let you talk about and manage money very easily without sacrificing any privacy or security.

Finovate: What is the upside for banks and providers to make Yodlee’s Tandem available to their customers?

Gibson: It’s hard to pick just one!

Ultimately, because it’s to banks’ benefit to give their customers tools they love, that make their financial lives easier – which Tandem does in spades. Customers who feel supported by their bank stay loyal to their bank, so by offering a unique tool like Tandem, banks can keep their customers happy.

Also, the more customers use Tandem, the more insight banks gain into their financial habits and needs – who they manage their money with, how and why they’re spending money instead of just what they spend it on. So banks are able to present their customers with extraordinary relevant offerings across their entire range of products and solutions – which is great from a sales perspective, and once again increases loyalty by giving customers comprehensive, personalized support.

Finovate: What’s next from Yodlee? Can we expect further innovation within Tandem? What sort of functionality might be developed for the app over the next 3-6 months?

Gibson: We’re always innovating and looking for ways to make our products and services more powerful, and though we’re not ready to make any announcements at the moment, we look forward to surprising you with what’s next when we’re ready!